I view my artwork as a series of social occasions, from which a variety of drawings, props, costumes, and miscellaneous ephemera form the body of work. Greatly influenced by the notion of "relational aesthetics," (Nicolas Bourriaud) I am interested in staging occurrences and observing the nuanced behavior that proscribed social gatherings dictate. I am also drawing attention to issues of inclusion and exclusion associated with the art world. I have been making paintings, drawings, films and installations since 1987. Previous projects such as Spacebooty, (16mm film) a slapstick response to identity politics, have addressed cultural and political trends, drawing parallels between the sex industry, fashion and contemporary art. From my mother's Chelsea loft to bookstore bathrooms, I have staged projects that challenge white box aesthetics and institutional elitism with democratic verve. As an artist/activist, my work relies heavily on the theatricality of street and media activism. My paintings and drawings often depict the gloved gesturing hands of puppet masters and ringleaders, insinuating calls to action or mischief. Following the renegade curatorial projects, YOU (2003) and THE OUTLAW SERIES (2003), I staged a confluence of performative tactics, culminating in events such as THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH where I fabricated a cake mimicking the Whitney Museum's architecture and blew it up, which , further interrogated the phenomenon of exhibition-making, redirecting my focus to the Barnum-esque role of the curator as author of spectacle. In SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE, by creating the illusion of the galleries store front window to appear broken, I poked fun at the notion that the exploding Whitney Museum Cake had such repercussions thus causing the sympathetic resonance all the way to South Street Seaport. In a long history of artists' responses to monolithic curatorial enterprises and museum blockbusters, this was my update of institutional critique gone awry. This summer I have curated my first gallery exhibition at John Connelly Presents. BONDS of LOVE, (August 14, 2005) is an "all girl" show that questions the age old double standard of male dominated shows vs. all woman shows. In response to TODAYS MAN and BOYS GONE WILD at JCP, I felt it necessary to react against the provocative "boys only" shows.

-Lisa Kirk 2005